Vault or sidewalk light



Feb. 24, 1925. l 1,527,528

J. A. s'rElNMETz vAuLT oR'sIDEwALK LIGHT Filed May 2s. 1923 y @bung Patented Feb. 24, 1925.

JOSEPH A. STEINMETZ, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

VAULT OR ESIDEWALK LIGHT.

Application filed May 26, 1923.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that l, Josnrn A. S'rninnnrz, a citizen ot the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Vault or Sidewalk Light, olf which the' tol,-

lowing is a specification.

My invention relaties to improvements in vault lights, or sky-lights, and particularly to those used for sidewalk lights.

rJlhe object ot my invention is to provide a vault light embodying means for taking care ol the ditte-rence in expansion and contraction of the various materials used in the construction ot vault lights, thus overcoming the breaking ot the lenses.

The vault ligliits now in general use are a constant source of expense due to the cost ot replacing oi' broken lenses. The plastic material in which the lenses are now cmbedded becomes hard and prevents the lenses from expanding, thus causing them to break. Various materials have been used lor embedding the lenses, but they all eventually become hard and non1'esilient.

ln the accompanying drawing, Fig. l, is a centra-l vertical sectional view of a lens, shown mounted in a vault light trame and embodying my invention; Fig. 2, is perspective view ot the lens shown in Fig. l, and the resilient member embracing the lens; llig. il, is a central vertical sectional view of a different :torni of lens, shown mounted in a iframe and embodying my invention; lii'g. l, is a. plan view ot the lens and the resilient embracing member, shown in Fig. 3; Figs. 5 and 6 are sectional views, similar to Fig. l, showing different forms of lenses and showing the resilient embracing member applied thereto.

Referring to the accompanying` drawing, in which like reference characters reiter to like parts, l represents a lens which is made olf transparent, or translucent, material such as glass. 2 represents a lrame which may he of any well known construction adapted to :form a support tor the lenses.

The lens l is provided with an elastic or resilient band 4, preferably made ol rubber, which band is normally smaller in diameter than the lens so that it will necessarily be stretched and under tension when placed around the periphery ot the lens, as shown in Fig. 2. The tightly stretched band l will adhere to the glass lens 1 and thus tend to Serial No. 641,608.

hold the lens against vertical displacement, and also prevent leakage between .the lens and the band 1l.

The lens l, having the tightly stretched G0 band 4l, embracing it, is placed upon the trame 2 and embedded in plastic material li in the usual manner. The band .elA i`s\ stretched around the lens and is thus compressed to less than its normal thickness, this allows the plastic material 6 to be packed tightly into the space between the hand et and the upstanding ribs ot the trame 2. The band l will not have suiicient resiliency to torce the filling 6 away from it, as it is in a compressed state due to being first stretched around the lens. It the band ll: were not under tension it would contract when the lilling 6 is being packed into the surrounding space and the natural resiliency of the band l would immediately `force the plastic filling material away from it before the illing material could harden, and thus leave a space between the filling material 6 and the band 4, which would possibly cause a leak in the vault light.

This trouble is overcome by first placing the resilient band t under tension, which causes it to be more compact than the filling material 6 before the latter hardens. A thin layer of resilient material 4 is termed around the lens which permits the lens l to expand, or the surrounding lling material 6 to expand, without breaking the lens.

Figs. 3 and 4 illustrate a `t'orin of lens 8 having a rib 9 and a groove l0 formed upon its edge walls, and the resilient band l2 con-` forms tightly to the surface of the edge walls.

Fig. 5, shows a form of lens 14 having side walls with two ribs l5 and 16 thereon and the resilient band 17 is adapted to cover the side walls and the said ribs.

Fig. 6, shows a still different form of lens 20, having' ribs 2l and 22, a flange 23, and a resilient band 25 adapted to tightly embrace the side walls ot the lens. There are many other forms of lenses now in general use but those illustrated in the drawing will serve to show that the resilient member may be used in connection with any of the various forms.

By using a thin layer of resilient material around the lens, Selthardening material such as cement may be used for the filling material, thus a rigid wall is formed around the lens by the lling material which l is adapted to interlock with the inclined Walls, or with the ribs, of the lens and lock it securely in the frame. The resilient member is so thin that it cannot be compressed suiciently to allow the lens to be lifted out of the lilling material, but said resilient member is adapted to yield sufficiently to take care of the expansion and contraction of the lens andthus prevent the latter from breaking.

Having thus described my invention I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

l. A vault or sidewalk light comprising, a frame, a lens positioned upon the frame, a band of resilient material of smaller diameter than the lens adapted to be stretched around the perimeter of the lens7 and a lilling of self-hardening material surrounding the lens and said band adapted to hold said lens with said band thereon interlocked in the frame.

2. The method of securing a lens in a frame forming a vault or sidewalk light consisting of tightly stretching a resilient band around the perimeter of the lens, then surrounding` the lens with said band thereon in selfhardening material7 said band being first stretched sufficiently so that it Will not force the self-hardening material away from it before said material hardens.

In testimony whereof I alix my signature.

JOSEPH A. STEINMETZ. 

